China’s Xi gets warm welcome in Hungary

Talks with Beijing’s closest EU ally set to boost ties amid tensions with the West

- 

Chinese President Xi Jinping received a warm welcome in Hungary on May 9 as he held talks aimed at bolstering already flourishing ties with China's closest European Union ally, amid divisions with the West over the Ukraine war and global trade.

The state visit to Hungary is the last leg of Mr Xi's first European tour since 2019.

Mr Xi and his wife Peng Liyuan were received with military honours by Hungary's President Tamas Sulyok in the lavish courtyard of Budapest's presidential palace.

According to a statement issued after the meeting between the heads of state, Mr Xi said that the bilateral "relationship is now at its best in history".

The Chinese leader met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for talks at the Premier's residence before delivering a statement to the press.

For the state visit, Budapest was decked out with Chinese flags and placed under tight security.

The few flags held up by Tibetan demonstrators were hidden from Mr Xi's sight.

Before his arrival late on May 8, Mr Xi had praised in an op-ed published in Hungary's Magyar Nemzet daily a "long-standing friendship" he described "as mellow and rich as Tokaji wine", referring to wine from the renowned Hungarian vineyard region.